 Our sermon title this morning is Light to the Blind. Light to the Blind, and we're in part three, looking at the Gospel according to John, chapter one, and working through the prologue. And in our passage, as we work through verses six through nine, we'll finish this up this morning by getting through verses eight and nine. The guy's sorry I remember that. In our passage, we're looking at the testimony of John. And through the testimony of John, at what it means, what it looks like to be a witness for Christ. And as we've seen, very witness that light, and this is the light that all men are born blind to. We are born with a sin nature, and born with our sin nature, we act in accord with our sin nature, and we choose the sin. And in choosing the sin and being born with that sin nature, we are blind to Christ, blind to the light of the world, which brings light to all men. And it takes God to open our blind eyes. But through the Gospel of John in the chapter one here, we're not to miss the good news of the incarnation of Christ. We're not to miss the good news of Jesus Christ coming into a dark world and shining the light of the Gospel of God on the world to save blind men. It is a blessing of God. God does not leave us without a witness of himself. We're also not to miss, in John chapter one, the tragedy of the human rejection of God, all men in their sin turn a blind eye to the light, and they choose rather than live in their darkness. And they'll say in effect, I'll not have this man for rule over me. They live for themselves. We're also not to miss the grace and mercy of God and many who will appear and believe. That's the purpose for John's writing as we've seen, that believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God that many would have light through his name, would believe and have light. Now as we look at this passage beginning in verse six, we're to see first in verse six that we're to go to the blind. And if we look at that, we saw that John was sent with the purpose of going to the blind to give witness of the light, and so are we. Secondly, we saw that we were to go to the blind and then speak of the light and being sent. John was given the role of the witness, the responsibility to witness about Christ, with the desired result that blind men might be saved. And thirdly, today we'll look at standing for the truth. We're to go to the blind, we're to speak of the light, and we're to take a stand for the truth, for the sake of the gospel, for the sake that souls would be saved, and we as Christians are to take a stand for all that is true, all that is real, all that is genuine, we're to take that stand against all that is false. There is saving light in no one else, but the true light, Jesus Christ. Again, nor is there salvation in any other. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. So point three, let's take a look at standing for the truth. Point three on your notes beginning in verse eight, where the Bible says, he was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which gives light to every man coming into the world. In verses eight and nine, we're gonna see both our position and our purpose. We're also gonna see Christ's position and Christ's purpose in light of these verses. Let's take first our position, if you see that in verse eight. John the Baptist was not that light. It's interesting that this reflects our position. If you didn't understand that's true of us, you and I are not that light. John the Baptist was not that light. Let there be any false exaltation of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was not the light. He was the greatest man who never lived up to this point in history. And according to Christ, among those born of women, there had risen not one greater than John the Baptist. And yet, John was not the light. Seems like a simple statement to make, very clear, very true statement. Very easy for us to understand, we're not the light, but we tend to forget that sometimes, the way that we preach and teach. It bears remembering. Drogos came out to hear John preach. The Bible says all of Jerusalem, all of Judea, all those in the region around the Jordan, came out to be baptized by John. John said in Luke chapter three, in him decreasing while Christ was increasing, he says, one mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with a Holy spirit and fire. It was of him that John said in chapter three, verse 30, he must increase, but I must decrease. And that is true of the Christian today. I must decrease while Christ must increase. John was a mere man. Christ was the word. John came into being. Christ is eternal. John is sent by God. Christ is God. John came that many would believe in Christ through his witness. Christ is the object of belief, the object of faith. And John came to bear witness of that light and Christ is the true light. So as great as John was, as great as his purpose was in God's redemptive history, he was not the light. Jesus Christ is the object of faith, the object of our belief. And even so, John at that time, because of his popularity, because he just attracted a crowd, John had many followers, many that came out to look to John, many that followed John as a founder, a leader of a new sect that they were joining. Now Paul ran into a group of these folks in Acts 19, a group of 12 of them in Ephesus that said they were baptized into John's baptism. Many at that time had exaggerated opinions, exaggerated ideas about John. And some followed him as a great prophet. He was the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets when Israel had been without a prophet for 400 years. So many followed John and others appeared to have believed that John was actually the Messiah. The whole purpose of John's appearance in God's redemptive history and God's redemptive plan is to point to the light and bear witness to the light. Listen to what Jesus says of him in John chapter five. Turn there with me, just a few pages to the right. John chapter five. And this is a summary that Jesus gives for John's ministry. John chapter five, look down at verse 35. Where Jesus says of John that he was the burning and shining lamp. And you were all willing for a time to rejoice in his light. Now Jesus is the light. What does he say of John here? John's a lamp, right? There are two different words being used. Jesus is the foes, the source, the essence of light. John is a luke-noss. He is a portable lamp. He's a light carrier. He's a light bearer. What's the purpose of a lamp? So shine the light and let the light shine, right? That's the purpose of a lamp. That's Jesus's summary here of John's ministry. John is a lamp, right? Does a lamp shine on its own? No, it needs a source of light. Needs a source of power. Look back at Matthew chapter five. Matthew chapter five. Let's see the same thing said of Christians, of believers, followers of Christ. A lamp doesn't shine on its own. It needs a source of light, a source of power. And Matthew chapter five, then in verse 14, here the Bible says you, Christian, are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand. And it gives the light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Ephesians chapter five, verse eight says it this way. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Before Christ, we're full of darkness. You and I are full of darkness. We need a supply of light, need a supply of power. The lamps don't shine on their own. So what does a lamp need? Needs oil, it needs power. No oil and the lamp burns out. And even the greatest man born among women is entirely dark apart from the light of Christ. In Christ, you and I have a derived light. We derive our light from the source of light, the essence of all light. We derive any light that we have from Jesus Christ himself. And we then are light bearers. Our ministry being sent by God can be summed up in the fact that we are lamps just like John is. You and I are lamps. Christ is the sun, S-O-N, but also in this analogy, S-U-N. We are like the moon that reflects the sun. He shines in us and through us and through us brings light into the darkness. He is like the sun, S-U-N, and we are like candles, so to speak. We're just lamps. And John's mission in this was always pointing away from himself and pointing to Christ. A lamp doesn't shine for itself and to itself. We're simply light bearers. John was always pointing away from himself to Christ. In that, in the light of John's ministry, Jesus Christ, the true light, blazed in John, blazed forth in John's ministry. The moment that John would have pointed to himself would have been the moment he would have been ineffective as a witness for Christ. And don't we see that today? You and I point to ourselves. If you point to yourself, yourself, yourself, you become ineffective as a witness for Christ. When your Christian life becomes all about you, all about your wants, your needs, your desires, you become ineffective for Christ. When you become self-centered, self-willed, self-indulgent, you become ineffective in God's plan to use you in the Christian life to bless others. It's not about John. It's not about you or I. You are a lamp. One day, as a lamp, you're gonna be taken out of this world. Right? Your lamp is gonna go out. And how much is the light shining through you now? How much light shines through you? You can't do it on your own. You need oil in your lamp. Where do you get that oil from? Is that a mystical thing? Where do you get oil from to bear light for Christ? It's interesting in the scripture that oil is often used as a reference to the Holy Spirit. And you, as a Christian, have the Holy Spirit indwelling you, your strength, your enablement, your ability to shine comes from the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, strength, enablement, power from the Holy Spirit. It's the spirit of God. And how do you get that? Is it mystical? Do you just hope for it? No, the Lord gives us means of grace. And if we will avail ourselves of the means of grace, then by the spirit, strength, by the spirit's power, we'll be able to serve the Lord. You pray. You pray fervently. You study the word of God. And you learn the word of God. And then you obey Christ in faith. And praying and studying the word of God and just obeying Christ by faith, the Holy Spirit works in you and through you to do and to will according to his good pleasure. Christ is the light and man are full of filthy darkness. That's our position. But if you're in Christ and you are redeemed, you're a redeemed lamp, you're cleansed, you're forgiven, you're washed, you're filled to the brim with oil. And now useful to the Lord. So here's the point. John was not that light. You and I are not that light. And understanding that, you gotta take as point three says. You gotta take a stand for the truth. Don't allow first, don't allow a man to be your light. All men are men at best. John, the greatest born of women after that point in time was not a man that you should allow to be your light. All the greatest of men can do is point you to the light. Don't allow that man to be your light. A favorite preacher that you have is a man at best and he is not the light. All that he should be doing is pointing you to the light. And all that you should allow him to do is to point you to the light. Paul said, imitate me as I imitate Christ, the light, right? Far as Paul is imitating Christ, we're to imitate him. If a so-called teacher isn't pointing you to the light, what do you do? You don't follow that so-called teacher any longer. If your wife is following men and not following the light, what do you do? You follow the light. If your husband has his own opinions, wants to go his own way, what do you do? You follow the light. You submit to your husband, ladies, in as much as he submits to the Lord and follows the Lord. You obey the authorities until they cause you to sin and you don't obey them anymore. You follow the light. If a friend, a coworker, a family member, or a pastor goes another way, what do you do? You follow the light. What happens when you have your own agenda? When you want to go your own way, when you become self-willed, you're not the light either. Stop following the dictates of your own heart. Search the scriptures, be humble, and obey the Lord. You follow the light. Now where are you going to find the true light? Christ came in human form 2,000 years ago, died on Calvary's cross and is now risen, sitting at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for his own. And until he comes again, where do we see the light? We see the light in God's word. We have God's word and we can see the testimony, given in God's word, bearing witness to the light. We're to follow the light through God's word. We're to obey the Lord through his word. It's in the word of God. You can see the light, right, can't you? In the lives of those that bear witness to the light, you can see it in their lives. You can see the transforming work of the spirit of God in the life of a genuine Christian. You can see the fruits of the spirit and you can see how the Lord works through a genuine Christian, again, to do into will according to his good pleasure. But you're to humble yourself to the word of God. You're to be taught the word of God. You're to learn the word of God. You're to study the word of God, read the word of God, meditate on the word of God, and follow the light from the word of God. You're to be able to be persuaded from the scriptures, but you are to be Berean. You're to search the scriptures to see if what is taught there is true. And so one, don't allow men to be your light. Only follow them as they follow Christ. But two, stop following the dictates of your own heart. You're not the light either. We're simply to obey the word of God. And in that, we're obeying Christ, the true light, which brings life to every man. Submit yourself to the word of God in everything. Simply trust him in all things and obey. You know, time and time again, we see this regularly, don't we? Person after person after person, making their own self-will decisions. The scripture is sufficient in all things. In other words, that when we have a question, when we need to understand what we are to do, when we're to understand how we are to live, or how to follow the Lord, or how to seek the light, we're to go to the word of God to do that. Instead of making our own self-willed decisions, person after person, it becomes wise in their own eyes. And as the proverb says, there's more hope for a fool than for them. They run off into sin, they run off into disobedience and into folly, thinking that they do God's service. Yeah, they're just following off after the dictates of their own heart. And there are consequences to those self-will decisions. There's consequences to not following after the true light. You follow the dictates of your own heart, you're gonna find yourself in trouble. Simply learn what the Bible says and then obey what the Bible says. We sit down to counsel someone who's found themselves in a difficult spot. Sit down to counsel someone who now has found themselves in sin or found themselves in rebellion or desiring the dictates of their own heart. What is the answer? What is the remedy to that? Is to point you away from you thinking you're your own light and to point you to the light is revealed in God's word, that you will follow the light. If you'll follow the light, you'll not make self-willed decisions after the dictates of your own heart. And there's blessing and there's safety and there's preserving power from God for the Christian life. But when you follow the dictates of your own heart, when you become your own light, you face the consequences for foolish, sinful, disobedient decisions. You can't look to man as your light, you can't look to yourself as your light. So next, what is our position then? That's our position. What's our purpose? In verse eight, we're to bear witness to the light just like John was. In verse eight, back in John chapter one, he, John, was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. And again, this is repeating what John has said here already in chapter one. But where the evangelist repeats himself, we're gonna repeat ourselves and expand on that. It's important. Where there's repetition, it's important. He was not that light, but was sent, John, was to bear witness of that light. So God, in God's great wisdom, has purposed to save men through the foolishness of preaching. Preaching is verbal proclamation. Bearing witness is verbal proclamation. Evangelism is verbal proclamation. And bearing witness, we're to bear witness to the light so that God in his wisdom might save men by the foolishness of preaching. In 1 Corinthians chapter one, verse 21, the Bible says, for since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God. It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. It may seem foolish to darken men. It may seem foolish to those in their sin. It may seem foolish to those who are perishing, but the gospel is the power of God and the salvation. And you, Christian, who have been saved by God through this gospel, the mercy and grace of God in this gospel should recognize it as the power of God until salvation and not be ashamed of it. In Romans chapter one, verse 16, Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. And we need to preach it like it's the power of God to everyone who believes. People believe in Christ to eternal life through the faithful witness of genuine believers, all of whom are sent by God like John. That's why Richard Baxter said, I preach as never sure to preach again and as a dying man to dying men. In that statement, Richard Baxter understands that the gospel is the power of God under salvation and he's going to preach that as a dying man to dying men. And all this again requires that we take a stand for the truth. We're to bear witness to the light and in bearing witness to the light, we have to take a stand for the truth. John didn't preach his own mind. John didn't preach his own heart. John didn't preach his own opinions. John didn't think to himself, you know what? I'm gonna survey the people, find out what the people want. I mean, can you imagine? John the Baptist didn't do that. The people, he may have thought to himself, wanna hear about marriage, so I'll preach on marriage. John the Baptist didn't do that. The people wanna hear about sex, about power, about how to be successful on the job. John came to bear witness of Christ and in that John was a faithful forerunner. He was not going to cater his message to what the people wanted to hear. He wasn't gonna cater his message to the cultural demands of the time. Let's get rid of this oppressive Roman government. Oh, John was concerned about people's sin. He might get rid of the oppression of their sin, the judgment that hangs over their head because of their sin. He didn't preach that Christ could heal you, which Christ could. He didn't preach that Christ could take you from your infirmities and give you health and give you wealth. He could make you rich or they could provide a free lunch. Christ could do all of those things. That's not what John preached. John said what he said because he knew he was responsible to God. John preached the message that he preached because he knew he was accountable to God. It didn't matter to him how much was in the offering plate. It didn't matter a snippet to him how much they liked him or didn't like him. How many people came out to hear him or how many people didn't come out to hear him. He didn't mind calling those Pharisees to their face a brood of vipers, a generation of snakes. It didn't matter how many of those people came out against him. John the Baptist was gonna be faithful to preach the message that God had given him to preach. He didn't mind telling Herod that Herod was in sin for having his brother's wife. And he didn't mind it so much that he eventually went to his death because of it. Would you rather keep your head or would you rather hear God say of you, well done, good and faithful slave? You can make me headless. Isn't that what you wanna hear from God? Well done, good and faithful slave. We must stand for the truth in our preaching. As a witness to the light, bearing witness to the light, as a lamp for Jesus Christ, you have to stand uncompromisingly for the truth against a darkened world where there are broods of vipers and generations of snakes. And we have to stand for the truth in our practice. Standing for the truth of God's word and standing for the truth, if you will, of the application of God's word to life. You as a Christian must live a holy life. You can't contradict God's word with your own personal testimony. You have to live a holy life. You have to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter if one 100 or 1000 come out against the biblical practice of church discipline. What are we going to do? We're gonna obey the Lord, obey the word of God. Are we doing what the Bible says or aren't we? Then does it matter if one 100 or 1000 come out against the practice of church discipline? We're obeying the Lord and what the Lord says for us to do, let the rest of them pound sand. We need to obey the Lord, amen? If another church takes them in and listens to their gossip and listens to their lies, what are we going to do? We're gonna follow the Lord. We're gonna be lampbearers for the light, pointing people to the light. It doesn't matter if one 100 or 1000 come out against the biblical example and the biblical practice of evangelism. Are we going to obey the Lord or aren't we? People can whine and they complain and they can leave. But what are we going to do? We're gonna follow the Lord. If it gets down to three or four and the Lord says no more, then shut the door. We're gonna have church. We're gonna obey the Lord and simply do what the Lord says to do. We're gonna obey his word. We bear witness to the light and being witnesses of the light, we can't compromise with the truth of God's word. We compromise with the truth of God's word. Then we compromise the light. We corrupt the light. We pollute the light. You have to take a stand for the truth. When we looked at our position in verse seven, we noted that man was not the light and that you're not that light. The same warning applies here. The same warning applies here in our purpose. We must take a stand for the truth and maintain our focus on Christ as the light as we bear witness to him. Most preaching in churches today has become grotesquely man-centered. It comes, God comes, right? Hat in hand. Wooing and pleading for men to accept him as if man is the center of the universe. Trying to get him to choose him. It's just absurdly unbiblical. God is sovereign over everything, sovereign over creation, sovereign over you, sovereign over the hearts of men, sovereign over those who will be saved. In most churches today, man is the light. We've got to maintain a focus on Christ as the light in our preaching. And you're preaching of the gospel going door to door. Who's the light? Christ is the light. This is not self-help. You're not preaching morality. You're not preaching conformity. You're preaching Christ. If you preach Christ, men will believe God will take care of the morality. When your wants, your desires, your needs become the central focus of your religion, then God to you becomes a genie. You just rub the genie and get what you want. And as it is in many churches today, everything from the music to the cafe, to the sermon, to the coffee that served is all about man, all centered and focused on man, not designed to bring glory to God. There's a song. I just every time I hear it, it just drives me crazy. Like a rose trampled on the ground, right? He took the fall and thought of me above all. Yet no, he didn't. Jesus Christ, the son, was thinking of the father's glory. God the father, thinking of the son's glory. You are a love gift from the father to the son, a love gift that the son will give back to the father one day, all for the father's glory, the glory of the son, the glory of Christ, the glory of the light, the true light. You are not that light. His own were definitely on his mind. Christ was bearing their sin all the ways that they had offended him. But above all, you know, the glory of God is supreme. If man is the light, then you'll start preaching moral reformation. You'll start preaching self-help. If man is the light, we'll preach health, wealth, and prosperity. If man is the light, you'll preach easy believism. He's got to give man an excuse for his sin. So you'll say, it doesn't matter how you live your life. As long as you pray to receive Christ, accept Jesus Christ as your savior and then do your best, but live however you wanna live. If you have man as the light, you get Arminianism. Charismatic experiences that appeal to man's senses. You'll preach theology to their intellect rather than preaching Christ to their heart. It was interesting, brother and I were talking to today, talking about a quote by Kierkegaard, where Kierkegaard said that there are those, and this is true, and examine yourselves to see if this is true of you, that study theology and study and study, and their study of theology, they're so enrapt by acquiring knowledge. And a study of theology, good? Amen, it's very good. But in their study of theology, they lose the importance of applying that theology to their heart and mind so that they might live for Christ more faithfully. Theology is not a means or an ends in and of itself. It's a means to an end, where to study the word of God that we might live him, obey him, serve him, glorify him, worship him, pray to him, but people can study theology, and it's the way that Kierkegaard said, he said that it was like putting napkins in your britches before you get a spanking. The kid goes in for a spanking and he just pads his britches with more and more napkins, more and more filler, so that when a spanking comes, he doesn't feel it. You can study theology and study theology and pad your britches so that when a spanking of God's word comes, you don't feel it. When conviction should come from the word of God, you don't feel it. You're too wrapped up in your theology, your agenda, your points, winning an argument. You put distance between you and the searching word of God. We do that in many ways. Man is not the light. Everything we preach should be bearing witness to the light. Thirdly, we see in beginning in verse nine, Christ's position and his purpose in his incarnation. We saw in verse eight, our position, our purpose, Christ's position, Christ's purpose and his incarnation in verse nine. John chapter one, verse nine says, that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. Now coming into the world here refers to the true light and not every man. If you're reading your New King James, that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. It appears as though there, coming into the world, refers to every man. More appropriately, coming into the world refers to the true light, which is Christ, speaking of his incarnation. As we get into verse nine, again, we're looking at the incarnation of Christ and we see that carried over into verse 10 where it says he, Christ, was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him. Again, we're talking about the incarnation of Christ. So coming into the world there refers to the true light and not to every man. That makes sense? The way the New King James or the King James translates it, it's a case for general revelation and we can see general revelation in it, but the Bible nowhere supports an inner illumination for every man. This is not prevenient grace. It's not providing for an illumination within every single man. This is a reference to the incarnation. Coming into the world and throughout the gospel refers to Christ. If we look at chapter six, verse 14, after the feeding of the 5,000, Bible says this, then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, this is truly the prophet, Jesus Christ, who has come into the world. That phrase is often used of Christ. In chapter 11, verse 27, Martha said to Jesus, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is come into the world. In 18, verse 37, Pilate says to Christ, are you a king then? And Jesus answered, you say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth, here's my voice. It's very common throughout John to describe the incarnation in that way that Jesus has come into the world. It's never used in the gospel of John for a man that has been born. So what we're speaking of here is the incarnation. This was the true light coming into the world which gives light to every man. Would be a better way to translate verse nine there. And again, we see in verse 10, again this is a smooth transition to Christ in the world in the incarnation. Just makes sense. So, coming into the light is a reference to true light. This is speaking of Christ's incarnation. Christ's incarnation is Jesus Christ, God coming into the world in human flesh, in a human body. So the true light came into the world. Now, the fact that John the Baptist and witnesses after him, half the point to the one true light demonstrates how blind the world is. Again, it gives testimony to the blindness and darkness of this world and why is that? Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter four and let's look at one example. 2 Corinthians chapter four. How is it? Why is it that men are so blind to the light? And here's one reason. 2 Corinthians chapter four and look there beginning at verse one where Paul says here to the church at Corinth, therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. Now, like John, Paul had been sent to bear witness to the light. John had been sent or Paul had been sent by God. This call to gospel ministry, Paul says there in verse one is a mercy from God. Therefore, since we have this ministry, since we've been sent by God with his purpose to bear witness, to bear testimony to the light, he says this is a mercy as we have received mercy. This call to gospel ministry is a mercy from God. Rather than give us what we deserve, Christ gives us a ministry. Rather than give us what we deserve, Christ puts us into service. Didn't Paul say that in first Timothy that God was merciful to him, putting him into the ministry? Well, he's been merciful to you and I, putting us into the ministry. He's been merciful here to Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter four, verse one. This is a mercy from God. And because we know that the work is the Lord's and because we know that the Lord is in control, that the Lord is in control of results, we don't lose heart. If you had to face that ministry in your own strength, face that calling in your own power, thinking that it all hangs on how I say this or that or how I do this or that. Can you imagine the pressure? Who would ever go into full-time Christian ministry thinking that it all rested on them for results? That would keep you up every night. Here we know the work is the Lord's. The Lord is in control and as difficult as things get or as sometimes seemingly it is the results. You don't see results. You don't see results you don't receive it. The Lord knows and the Lord does. The Lord is one in charge of results. We don't often see what those results are. We don't often see the fruit that the Lord produces as a result of your faithful witness. But we're not to lose heart. The Lord is in control. We're not to lose heart. If you ever feel weary, look to the Lord for strength and don't lose heart. If you ever feel weary, sit back and just rest on the sovereignty of God and don't lose heart. Here Paul faced great persecution, great difficulty and yet he says it's a mercy. One and two, we don't lose heart. Verse two, in 2 Corinthians chapter four, Paul goes on to say, but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. Paul simply preached the truth. Now there's a couple of ways of looking at that first phrase there. We have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness or handling the word of God deceitfully. One is that Paul has left his sin. He's repented of his sin, turned from sin. In that sense, he's renounced the hidden things. Those things that were once in darkness are renounced. Paul has renounced them, now stepped into the light, serving the light, bearing witness to the light and those things he's repented of. There are some who believe that that is also speaking of the thing that was once shameful to them, which was the gospel. These hidden mysteries that were shameful to even think of or speak of to the Jews is renounced that idea of shame and now recognizes the gospel of God as the power of God unto salvation. And in that manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves, he says, to every man's conscience. This is just a direct, clear, unvarnished truth on the part of Paul. He's preaching Jesus Christ and him crucified and pointing spiritually blind men to the light. In verse three, he goes on, but even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. Why? Because in 1 Corinthians chapter two, verse 14, the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned, as the Bible says. Those who are perishing are spiritually blind to the light. In one sense, because they love darkness rather than light. They just love their sin. But in addition to their own sin, look at verse four. Whose minds, these who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. You see the dual responsibility in that verse. One, the minds, the God of this age has blinded their minds. Satan's world system. You know, it's not necessary for Satan to possess every person. Or that his demons should possess a lot of people. Satan has a world system designed to deceive you. Designed to keep your mind in darkness. Designed to keep you indulging the flesh, you being your own light, living your own life. So the God of this age has blinded the minds of those that are perishing. But look at what it says in second half of verse four there. Who do not believe? Listen, that's the sinner's responsibility. They don't believe the light. They would rather have their darkness. And they don't believe because they don't want the light of the gospel or the glory of Christ, who is the image of God to shine on them. And why? Because they love darkness rather than the light. Because they don't want their evil deeds exposed. And so what is the remedy here? What is Paul to do? Look at verse five. For we, Paul says, do not preach ourselves. Paul is not the light. But we preach Jesus Christ the Lord. Jesus Christ is the true light. And he says, ourselves your bondservants, your lamps for Jesus Christ's sake to bear witness of the light. We do not preach ourselves, Paul is not the light. But Jesus Christ the Lord, because Jesus Christ is the true light and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake, because he is sent by God to bear witness of the light. For it is verse six, the God, it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And Paul points spiritually blind people to the light of Jesus Christ. It was Paul's ministry too, just like John's. With Satan over this world, with this God of this age, as Paul says, over this world, there are also false lights. There are deceiving lights, pretending lights. Second Corinthians chapter 11, in verse 14, Paul says in no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness whose end will be according to their works. In John chapter 18, we see false accusers, falsely giving testimony of the light against Jesus Christ, leading to his crucifixion. But Jesus Christ is the true light. The word true there, there's two words that you could use for true. In the Bible, two Greek words that are often used. One is a lay face, it means true as opposed to false. True as said opposed to false. For example, a statement that you make in a court of law thinking of legal terms that is either right or wrong, true or false, you would use that word. The word that's used here is a lay finas, it means real, it means genuine. True, through and through, right? True in total. One true when everything else is imperfect. One true when everything else is corrupted or polluted. All other lights will be partial. All other lights will be misleading, will be corrupted, will be polluted. Christ alone is the true light that enlightens the darkness and opens spiritually blind eyes. And this word true, this is true of Christ in four different ways. One, it is true as true opposed to false. Christ is true as opposed to all those who are false. All those so-called lights that are false. Many believe that happiness is light or that love is the light of the world. Love makes the world go round. Or they believe that money takes that position or power or fame or whatever it else it is. Some of you may live for leisure, live for fun, live for pleasure, for comfort. But it's also true, meaning real. This is no longer ceremonial type or shadow, but Christ is the reality. Christ is the truth. Ceremonies have all been fulfilled in Christ because Christ is the true Passover lamb. Christ is the true sacrifice, the one sacrifice that has taken away the sins of the world. There are no longer types and shadows we now in Christ have the reality. So he is the true light. It's also the true light, meaning an undirived light. Christ is the source of light. He's not a borrowed light or a reflected light. Christ is the one true light. He's not participating in light with another. And it's also true, meaning highest or preeminent. Christ is supreme as the one true light. He's not ordinary or common or in any way like you or I in that sense. He is the one unique true light. So we're to take a stand for this light. And you're to take a stand for the truth in your own life. Tend to your own faith. Tend to your life and your doctrine as Paul said to Timothy that you might save both yourself and those who hear you, right? No other light will forgive or cleanse. No other light will change your life. No other light will impute righteousness, righteousness that is not your own. No other light is gonna get you to heaven. Lastly, Christ's purpose is to bring light into the darkness to every man. Verse nine, that was the true light coming into the world which gives light to every man. J.C. Ryle said this. Christ is to the souls of men what the sun, S-U-N, is to the world. He is the center and source of all spiritual light. Warp, life, health, growth, beauty and fertility. Like the sun, he shines for the common benefit of all mankind, for high and for low, for rich and for poor, for Jew and for Greek. Like the sun, he is free to all. All may look at him and drink health out of his light. If millions of mankind were mad enough to dwell in caves underground or to bandage their eyes, their darkness would be their own fault and not the fault of the sun. So likewise, if millions of men and women love spiritual darkness rather than light, the blame must be laid upon their blind hearts and not on Christ. Whether men see or not, whether they leave their dark caves or not, there is no other light for sinners except the Lord Jesus Christ. Luther said there's only one light. No man coming into the world can possibly be illumined by any other light. Jesus Christ is the only man who ever gives light to anyone. Any enlightened man is enlightened by him alone. And this blindness is without excuse. Again, because the light of Jesus Christ shines on every man. In verse four, back in John chapter one, we saw that in him was life and the life was the light of men. In Romans chapter one, men are without excuse. We don't have time to go there, but I invite you to take a look at that passage in verses 18 through 23. Man is accountable and guilty before God for the light that is revealed in creation and in man's conscience. Man is accountable before God, guilty before God, and he is without excuse. Although he shines on every man, as the passage says here, we know that not every man is spiritually enlightened. Verse five in John chapter one says that the darkness did not comprehend it. Down in verse 10, he was in the world, but the world did not know him and people refused to come to the light because they loved their sin. They don't wanna leave it. They don't wanna be exposed. They are willfully blind. John chapter three, we'll get to this passage, beginning in verse 19, John says, and this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed. And so Jesus, the light of men comes into the world. True light shines for every man to see. He gives off light and many reject. And so if you think about it then, Jesus Christ shines on some that they might believe and having believed in his name, they might have eternal life. But on others, he shines for the purpose of judgment. There are those that will not believe. He has to grant sight to some and there are others that he passes over and men are responsible for their damnation. Christ came to safe centers and eventually he will judge. God in Jesus Christ must open blind eyes, must cause spiritually dead men to be made alive in Christ to see in the light of Christ their wicked condition before him. They might repent, turn from their sin and put their faith in Jesus Christ. There are others that when the light shines they simply reject the light. They hoard themselves in their darkness, in their dark corner, in their dark cave. They reject the light lest their deeds should be exposed because they love their sin and God simply passes over. Men are responsible for their sin. Men are responsible for their guilt before God and Christ eventually comes to judge. John the Baptist went to the blind, spoke of the light and then he took a stand for the truth. We're to do the same. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. You know in John chapter 10, John's ministry is summarized, or John the Baptist's ministry is summarized here where in verse 40 the Bible says, and he went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first and there he stayed. Then many came to him and said, John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this man were true and many believed in them there. So John spoke and what he spoke was true and he spoke of the true light and pointed men to the light and many believe. Will you believe at the testimony of John? If you're here today and you've never bound the need of Christ, you've never turned from your sin, you've never come out of the dark corner of your own cave to give your life to the light, to put your faith and trust in him alone. You can do that now and be cleansed if you'll believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and believing means trusting, trusting in him alone, not trusting in any of your works, trusting in Christ alone. Believing means committing yourself to him to follow him for the rest of your life. It's saying I want light, I don't want my darkness anymore. It's trusting yourself to him in all things. It's a trusting in Christ alone to save you that bears the fruit of a hatred for sin. Bears the fruit of obedience to Christ. Bears the fruit of a love for his word. Bears the fruit of a love of his purpose to come into the world of safe centers. Bears the fruit of your following God's sending of you to bear witness to the light. Will you follow him? Will you turn from your sin and put your faith in Christ? Let's pray. Father in heaven, Lord, God, we thank you for this time. Thank you for the gospel that it is, the power of God and the salvation. Thank you, God, that you've sent witness after witness after witness to bear witness to the light. I want to thank you that you triumph over our darkened hearts, our darkened minds, our blind eyes, our deaf ears, our dead lives, God, that you bring us in Christ to life and we might be saved. Thank you, Lord, that it's not by the will of our flesh or the will of man, not by what family or what heritage or what ethnicity we're born into, but it's by your will. We praise you and thank you for that. And thank you, Lord, for the testimony here that we've seen of John the Baptist. This is a faithful example of a witness for Christ and Lord, may we live in light of that witness and be faithful witnesses ourselves. Our desire, Lord, is to please you, to please you and to one day hear you say, well done, good and faithful slave for your glory, God. And for the good of those that will turn from their sin and believe on you, they might worship you for all eternity. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.